


felt it in my fist, in my feet, in the hollows of my eyelids

by SleepyBanshee



Series: give your heart and soul to charity, cause the rest of you, the best of you, honey belongs to me [5]
Category: Sanditon (TV 2019)
Genre: Charlotte severely underestimates Sidney's level of hotness, Charlotte wants to learn how to fight, F/M, Future Fic, Married Fluff, Sidney is hesitant, but eventually agrees to teach her, super chill and pg, this is all teasing and Charlotte trying very hard to not be distracted by a half-naked Sidney
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 15:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20968583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepyBanshee/pseuds/SleepyBanshee
Summary: Charlotte convinces Sidney to teach her how to fight, he does so, reluctantly, but is ecstatic to see Charlotte distracted by...other physical activity because of it.Future Fic/Married Fluff





	felt it in my fist, in my feet, in the hollows of my eyelids

“I must insist that we forget this. It is a monumentally bad idea,” Sidney said, looking at Charlotte defeated. She smiled at him undeterred.

“Remember that one time when you jumped from a fast-moving carriage onto another?” She asked, her brows raised.

“Yes, Charlotte, which is why I know a bad idea when I see one.” She laughed at him out right now, even as she tried in vain to contain her amusement. Sidney, for his part, stood stoically resigned to his fate.

“We are about to go to London, where you have business for a few months, and I think it would be prudent if I could defend myself better.” Charlotte put her hands on her hips and looked a tad too triumphant for Sidney’s liking. Both of them knew that Charlotte’s safety was Sidney Parker’s Achilles heel.

“There will be no need as I can more than handle any threat.” He reiterated again. He had, in all honesty, lost count of how many times he had made this particular argument to Charlotte.

“Yes, and as I am glued to your hip and go everywhere with you there isn’t a problem, is there?” She asked sarcastically. Sidney looked as if he was about to agree with her assessment of the situation, but Charlotte cut him off. “I don’t want to be a victim. I want to be safe.”

Sidney looked at her before giving in. He walked over to Charlotte and cupped her face with his hands. They were large enough to almost engulf her head. It was this, how small Charlotte was, that scared him. He couldn’t imagine her hurt. He did not want to imagine it. Her idea was not bad, but every inch of him rejected the thought that at some point, Charlotte, his wife, might be physically hurt, and he would not be there to stop it.

Charlotte smiled at him, well attempted to, the hands on her face hindered the movement of her cheeks. “Are you done trying to persuade me to drop this?” Sidney pinched his lips together. “It’s you, or I can ask someone else to teach me!” She said coyly, and Sidney narrowed his eyes.

“You are far too dangerous already,” Sidney said and let go of her face unbuttoning his vest and pulling off his shirt.

“Does learning how to fight require nudity?” Charlotte swallowed and tried to keep her focus on his face and not on the impeccable lines of his abdomen.

“Well, I would hate to ruin my clothing.” He smirked, and Charlotte was a little worried that she had vastly underestimated her husband’s ability to distract her.

“I’m not falling for this, Sidney,” she told him. She resolved to finish out the lesson without being enticed by her beautiful husband.

“Whatever do you mean?” He asked, the picture of innocence, which was impressive to Charlotte that such an expression could appear on Sidney’s face at all.

“Okay. Teach me.” She said. She stood with one foot in front of the other, and her arms raised near her face, fists clenched. Sidney laughed slightly before lowering her arms.

“First, you must learn how to get out of an attack. The best offense is a good defense. The basics of fighting rest on the understanding that it is a last resort.” Charlotte nodded at him but couldn’t help her next words.

“What exactly was the last resort of you fighting for fun in an underground ring?” He looked at her in shock. “Georgiana’s maid told me.”

“You are entirely too pleasant to talk to.” He said as if this was the most annoying trait of Charlotte’s he had ever had to deal with.

“Thank you,” she said, unfazed. Her hands down at her sides. “Okay, so defense,” she redirected the conversation.

“Yes. So if someone comes up behind you, as in the alley last time in London. Their hand over your mouth like this, what did you do?” Sidney hovered his hand over her mouth so that she could still talk.

“Last time I bit his hand, which seemed to anger him, as he then grabbed a knife.” Sidney went rigid at the information. Before shaking himself to focus. God, he really did not want to do this. He wanted Charlotte to live in a bubble where no one could ever harm her. He knew it was unrealistic, but it was his wish.

“Good instincts,” he forced himself to tell her. “If he kept his hands on you still, the next move would be using your legs.”

“Okay,” Charlotte said, concentrating on Sidney’s words and very much, not at all, relishing the feel of his half-naked body at her back.

“If your legs are relatively free, pick up your foot and slam your heel into his foot. It should throw him off balance and incite enough pain to give you a chance to get free and run.” Sidney told her.

“Let’s try it, but do remember that you love me.” He added after a moment of reflection.

“Of course, my dear husband,” Charlotte replied in a tone that gave Sidney no comfort whatsoever. Charlotte lifted her foot and pressed down on Sidney’s boot-clad foot. She didn’t do it very strongly, but she did want to gauge how much force she would require should the occasion arise.

Charlotte looked behind her at him and saw him nod. “Good. You should definitely use your full strength in an actual fight and make sure that you aim for as much surface area as possible.” She nodded at the information.

“Now, if, heaven forbid, you are recaptured, the assailant might be more inclined to tightly hold your hands at your sides. Like this,” Sidney demonstrated the motion. Still, at Charlotte’s back, he squeezed around her middle, her arms trapped between her body and his arms. Charlotte stood still while he continued his instruction.

“Do you see how it is more difficult to utilize your legs now?” Charlotte nodded. “In this case, you would want to go as limp as possible to make your attacker bend down to accommodate the weight. Then throw your head back as far as possible. Try to make good contact with his nose, if possible, but even a strong hit on his neck should rattle his hold.” Sidney waited for Charlotte to go limp in his arms, but she never did.

“Charlotte?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you going to practice?” Sidney asked equal parts, amused and confused.

“Right! Yes. Of course.” Charlotte said, going limp and feeling infinitely grateful that her back was to him so he could not see the crimson staining her face. She should not be so distracted by her husband’s body. Sidney accommodated the weight by bending down slightly, and Charlotte pretended to swing her head to hit him. She pulled back at the last second.

“Good!” Sidney encouraged. He let go of her body and took a step back from Charlotte. She missed the heat of his body almost at once, but she stayed focused. “Now,” he said as he came to face her. “If someone grabs your hand and their palm is at the top of your wrist, you want to rotate your hand down and towards their thumb to break their hold.” Charlotte and Sidney tried this movement a few times before Charlotte could do it somewhat quickly.

“Remember to use your legs to kick. Their, uh, unmentionables, and knees are the weak spots.” Charlotte pressed her lips together in concentration and absolutely did not, at any point when he told her that, glance down at his own unmentionables. “I’m starting to think, Mrs. Parker, that you are not as committed to learning as you would have led me to believe at the beginning of our conversation.” He said, too amused.

“Well, at the beginning of the conversation, my husband was not half-naked and pressed against me,” Charlotte murmured. It was still new to tease her husband about sex and sexuality. She still felt wild and wanton for requesting and wanting sex, but Sidney had never given her a reason to think it was anything out of the ordinary. She had gleaned a few details during a frank conversation with Lady Susan that had helped dissipate some of the shyness she possessed in regard to wanting her husband.

Sidney smiled at her, his eyes darkening. “I thought that you were steadfast in your desire to learn?”

“I am!” She insisted. “I think I’m just a tad parched is all.” She tried to redirect, her mouth, was, to her credit, dry.

“Of course. Well, we can always resume out lessons until after you have quenched your thirst,” Sidney said in such a way that Charlotte felt goosebumps on her arms and her body clench in the most pleasurable way.

“You don’t play fair, Mr. Parker. I will learn self-defense.” She told him matter-of-factly. The insistence was only partially successful because, as she said it, Charlotte began to unfasten the top of her dress, much to Sidney’s delight.

“I’ll be happy to teach you anytime.” He said, his tune changed significantly at this new turn of events.

“Perhaps, we can invite Georgiana next time to learn as well.” Sidney let out an annoyed groan.

“Please, Charlotte, do not mention my ward when you are undressing.”

“Apologies, husband. What was I thinking?” Charlotte replied, full of amusement.

“You will be the death of me,” Sidney whispered, his face now a fraction of a hair away from hers.

“Not yet, Sidney, but with a few more lessons, I might prove quite lethal!”

**Author's Note:**

> I super don't know how accurate these self-defense techniques are. Google helped and a very fever dream-like self-defense class about ten years ago also informed it. 
> 
> Title from Florence + The Machine song Blinding 
> 
> find me on tumblr: https://air-bison-yip-yip.tumblr.com/
> 
> I hope you all enjoy (thanks so much everyone for your lovely messages! They make me so happy)! 
> 
> xoxo,  
SleepyBanshee


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